Essay One
In Chapter 2 of The Myth of the Paperless Office, Sellen and Harper discuss two case studies of paperless office - Dan Tech and UK Com.
(a) Describe the lessons learned from these two case studies. (300-500 words)
It is interesting to note that while the initial case study of DanTech was focused on its role as a paperless office, the lessons learned were derived from how the implementation of change affected a company. The main lesson learned from this case study is the importance of recognising that going paperless was “a symbol of change rather than a cause of change”. This frame of mind was the crucial factor for allowing change to come about in a more natural way. Although not every change implemented was successful, DanTech
…show more content…
The ability to quickly and easily reconfigure and regroup working teams was a huge payoff for the company.
While DanTech chose to redesign as a whole UKComm decided to zone in on certain areas to begin with. Here it learned a valuable lesson in that human nature and that of the workforce is hugely important. The company repeatedly came up against “resistance to change”. The company was right in discerning that technology would speed up work processes but failed to address underlying work practises that clashed with the ways of the new system. For example Accounts managers were reluctant to upload what they considered to be classified information about their clients, fearing repercussions. It didn’t matter what systems were introduces if the various work practices weren’t taken into consideration. “Organisational structures and organisational culture needed to be confronted and understood”
UKComm learned that change is not easy to bring about and that it is not as easy as painting technology as perfect and paper bad. While they found the change to be an uphill struggle they did gain a much deeper and valuable understanding of their
…show more content…
This would have proved very helpful in understanding the work of the installation managers. Instead of focusing on how the process of changing to an electronic budget and planning system would reduce paper the company should have focused on the effect of the work processes already in place. Had they used CI research they would have had an understanding of how funds were shifted from one code to another “ to deal with unpredicted costs” As the new system was designed to be completely translucent in monetary terms this made life difficult for the
University of Queensland ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR Course Code: MGTS 1601 Employee Resistance to Change Student Name: Yuanli Zhang (Phil) Student Number: 43401163 Course Tutor: Marissa Edwards Yuanli Zhang 43401163 Table of Content Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 Description of Problem ----------------------------------------------------------- 2 Propose Intervention ---------------------------------------------------------------4 Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 1|Page Organisation Behaviour; MGTS 1601; Individual Essay; Employee resistance to change Yuanli Zhang 43401163 Contemporary business dynamics are pressuring
Not only did this provide them with a sense of family and connection, but it also provided them with a tacitly agreed upon way of working with each other. The new system separated employees from their work group and completely disrupted the established work process. Thus, whereas the previous system felt like ‘home’ to employees, the new system felt like ‘hell.’ Compounding this problem was the wide gap in the cultures of the work units as they had been previously structured and the attempts by employees to maintain their allegiances with their ‘like-minded’ former coworkers, at the expense of finding an effective means of building relationships with their new coworkers. The manager, an outsider, appeared to have little appreciation of these interpersonal dynamics.
4.1 & 4.2. – Describe different types of office equipment and the uses of different types of office equipment
Change should be seen as a challenge and embraced with enthusiasm (Marquis & Huston, 2012). In my professional and personal life, I view and respond to change as a way to make improvements to existing regulations and circumstances. I embark upon the quest with determination to succeed at whatever task is presented to me. Life without change can become unchallenging and stagnant (Marquis & Huston, 2012). As society and technology advance, you must incorporate the necessary transformations that arise with it.
A majority of the working people sit at the desk all day, using one or more computers to work with. Even 100 years ago this was unthinkable and far away. The typewriter, the telegraph, and the first telephones and photographic apparatus were regarded as marvels of technology, which became indispensable for some branches of profession. However, most people only had very late access to modern developments that would change life and work sustainably.
phones & e-mail allow people to contact you. Computers allow you to process business data, send pictures, pdf files and other files to customers, and vendors.
Following an analysis of the case, the company is currently experiencing internal communication problems and a lack of understanding of how a business that has a matrix structure should operate. By applying a few changes within the organisation will result in the company becoming even more successful.
This report therefore gives an analysis of the current culture of the organisation, referring to the present business practices and the values and ways in which the organisation is run. Despite the effectiveness of this current culture, and the challenges of ‘change’ of any sort, there
The major elements are cost efficiency, eliminating wastes, and researching future IT investments. In the IT Doesn’t Matter article, three main points were outlined, and they were spend less, follow, don’t lead, and focus on vulnerabilities, not opportunities. Overspending has always been a major issue in regards to applying new technology, and it is important to execute an IT budget for any organization. Office Depot adopted new technology to improve all of their operations, especially in the supply chain. They were able to increase efficiency, while modernizing their budget. Information technology can benefit any organization if they are researched thoroughly and will improve the business needs of the organization. If it will not improve the business needs, there is no need to invest in expensive technology. The most important phase in the system development life cycle is the systems analysis phase. The goal of this phase is to identify what problems need to be fixed and breaking down how the system will benefit all users. Therefore, the business needs need to be identified and outlined before new technology is adopted into an organization’s business model. Once new technology is applied, organizations must continue to research information technology. If organizations follow these elements of
The scenario upon which this paper is based relates to the British Airways Swipe Card Debacle case study from the textbook, Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspective Approach (Akin, Dunford, & Palmer, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss the organizational change associated to the implementation of a new swipe card system that led to strike of over 250 British Airways check-in staff, losing 40 million pounds and negatively effecting the company’s reputation. Additionally, this paper will relate the case study to several change approaches (organizational development, sense-making, change management, contingency, and processual) and identify key issues. Additionally, this
Finally, around 2012 the Army acquired the technology that included the digital signature that would allow them to truly go paperless. The technology had existed for five years, but the Army’s slow procurement and distribution process was one of the many lessons learned: in the digital age, the Army had to move faster and be more flexible to change. This paperless platform would allow the Army to overhaul all administrative systems. The Publication Directorate stopped printing paper copies of manuals and regulations, and posted the digital copies to an online library, where changes could easily be updated. Evaluations could be completed online, signed online, and submitted online. Leave forms and award recommendations could go from one user to approver with the click of a button across the world if needed. And promotion boards no longer needed to flip through endless reams of paper to select candidates-just click through digital copies of a file for a potential promotion candidate.
The case deals with two major transformational organisational changes that take place within a span of 5 years in Marconi PLC. The first change process was under the leadership of Lord Simpson who took over this large diversified conglomerate in 1996 when the company was in a mature phase, already in decline. The company was under performing, had a rigid structure, lacked a clear vision and the employees had become change averse and complacent. To recharge the company Lord Simpson lead a change process with a clear vision with a growth oriented strategy, acquisition and a cultural change process for the employees. To motivate the employers to embrace the cultural change he introduced an attractive stock option plan.
As the economy weakens, Americans begin to find ways to save money. One of the latest trends in saving money is considered “the paperless office”. This new paperless office method is a concept that is now considered “Green”, also known as environmentally friendly. These “Green” approaches are engineered to help save money and save the environment. A paperless office does not completely eliminate paper in a work environment, but rather uses a minimal use of paper taking on a smarter approach by converting all documentation into a technological form. Reducing the use of paper in a work place improves efficiency, saves money, time and space.
The ABC system will help management analyse the profitability of each customer and restore the profitability of the company. Allied needs to offer benefits such as modified compensation plan focused on growing customer revenue and profitability to help encourage sales behaviour. TFC is able to significantly improve profits by concentrating on individual account management which SBP is capable of by identifying service costs and calculate the contribution for each account and then rank the accounts according to profitable ones. TFC should charge its customers based on their service usage by using cost plus pricing. The customers would be charged based on the cost of product plus service charge based on SBP systems plus a mark-up so that it will be fair to customers that have the same sales but different level of service.
This section aims to determine the nature of change the Courthouse hotel is faced with. There two main types of change: incremental and transformational change. Academics argue that an organisation